I first had currywurston a trip to Berlin two years ago where I'd read it was one of the regional specialities. While it wasn't love at first bite, every once in a while I get a craving for the singular taste of grilled German wurst (sausage) smothered in curry-flavored ketchup. I haven't seen many places that offer currywurst on the menu in southern Germany, but there is one shop in town where I know I can go for a good one: Martha's.

Currywurst at Martha's made with Rotewurst

Martha's tiny shop located in the Königsbau Passagen in downtown Stuttgart sells currywurst made from local sausages smothered in a homemade curry ketchup and sprinkled with extra curry powder. You can order three different kinds of sausages: Oberländer (a white pork sausage), Rote (a red pork sausage), or Rind (a beef sausage). Martha's seems to pride itself on their use of local, high-quality ingredients, which is nice to see in a dish that's considered fast food in Berlin. Even their dishes are made of "high-quality" ceramic shaped to look like the paper bowls in which currywurst is usually served.

I've been there a couple of times now and tried the currywurst made with both Oberländer and Rotewurst. While Rotewurst is my favorite sausage to have on a roll during grill-season, I preferred my currywurst made with Oberländer. The lighter flavor of the white sausage allowed the flavor of the sauce to stand out better.

Tip: Ask for your currywurst "scharf" (hot) to get the spicier sauce, which has a lot more flavor than the milder "regular" sauce.

Currywurst made with traditional Oberländerwurst

On my last visit, I also got an order of the fries. They were thicker than I usually like, but they knew how to cook them until crispy. They even prepared them "rot-weiß" (red-white) with both ketchup and mayonnaise, a flavor combination that I've come to love since moving here.

Martha's has quite a few other items on the menu, including Flammkuchen (a kind of regional thin-crust pizza), buffalo burgers, pastrami sandwiches, and Belgian waffles. It's an odd combination of foods, for sure, but I've actually heard good reports about their burger, which I want to try. I also don't often see pastrami sandwiches on menus anywhere else here, so I'm willing to give it a chance, too.

Martha's location in the Königsbau Passagen

Whether you're looking for a quick snack while shopping or want to try this Berlin special in Stuttgart, then check out Martha's. It's located in the covered, outside portion of the Königsbau Passagen just a few steps from the Schlosplattz U-bahn station. They're open from Monday through Saturday from 10:00 until 21:00, and now have a lovely patio space in front of the Neues Schloss for the summer, so you can do a bit of people watching while you eat. You can also check out their market stall in the Schillerplatz on Thursdays and Saturdays from 10:00 until 13:00 for a local sausage while you do your market shopping.